Amber Whitson is losing track of time. The past three months have been a blur for the 37-year-old as she and her neighbors in Berkeley, California, have been locked in a tense dispute with the local government over their homes. For Whitson, a mechanic who has lived in and around the city for 21 years, home happens to be a 1978 Fleetwood Pace Arrow recreational vehicle.

We live within our means and we dont want to move from place to place, Whitson said of her community of a few dozen people including several children who live out of cars and RVs theyve been parking in various locations around Berkeleys marina for the past year. This is where were trying to survive if we dont want to be on the sidewalk.

In late June, the city served an eviction notice on the vehicle dwellers, who were told they would be ticketed or arrested if they did not leave the marina willingly. The makeshift neighborhood, which the city claimed drew public safety and sanitation complaints, has split up as a result. Whitson and some of the others have since been parking in mostly industrial areas on Berkeleys west side, shuffling their vehicles every 72 hours to avoid fines.